Where you Belong
by Ireth-Tasartir
Summary: Rikku and Tidus are best friends that travel to Zanarkand on board of the Titanic, there they meet Yuna, a rich Summoner, and romance blooms, can love defeat their class difference? Will they make it to Zanarkand? R
1. Aboard the Ship

The enormous ship emitted a loud, whistling sound as a thick column of white, foggy vapor arose from it's circular, black and white chimneys, which's diameter was so large it could bear a community swimming pool. The dock was crowded with at least two or three thousand people, al moving back and forth like little ants, carrying bags, moving in elegant coaches and cars, or running like crazy gazelles.

Two people were pushing their way through the crowd, people staring at them with annoyance and even a reaction of disgusted shock, "young people nowadays" said an elder woman carrying a little dog in her arms. The boy looked back, his eyes a bright blue, so intense it seemed as if the sky had gotten trapped in the two, perfect orbs, "hurry up Rikku or we'll miss the ship!" he called after his friend. As he turned around, a few strands of his messy, golden hair got into his eyes, but he pushed them apart in time to see the elegant, green car that had parked right in front of him. He turned and leapt over the narrower car's front. A young lady walked out quickly upon seeing the boy leaping over her car, "but what…?" she started. Her sentence never finished as Rikku who had directed her speed and calculated to do the same as her friend ran into the lady. The surprised Al Bhed recoiled and shook her head pulling a blond braid out of her face, "uh, sorry…" she said shyly. She didn't waist any time for she was soon running again after the golden haired youngster, "Tidus, wait up!" she called after him.

The lady stared at the two children, one no older than 19, the other approximately 17, children still, possibly a couple that decided to throw everything off board to life a brief, teenager romance that had been forbidden. She pulled a strand of dirty brown hair away from a peculiar set of eyes, one blue the other green, "children nowadays don't know any respect for the people, what is that running like a madman across a dock full of people?" said a voice behind the young lady. She turned around to see an attractive Al Bhed dressed in fine silk, "mother, I completely agree with you, is this the ship?" she mentioned looking up with some disdain. The elegant Al Bhed looked at her daughter with great shock, "Yuna! This is the Titanic, the most luxurious ship in the world, and you, as a Summoner, should respect the effort people have put in building this magnificent machina!" scolded her mother in a severe yet gentle tone. Yuna managed a fake smile, a too noticeable one at that, and focused her attention on the ship, "as a Summoner I'm supposed to forbid machina, and the people that built this thing are traveling in third class with the rats" she thought with disdain, disgusted at her own society.

Rikku placed the bags over the upper bunker, their room was small and they shared it with two very silent Guados that examined them as if they had never seen anything like them before. The tiny room was dull, dark and damp, their sheets were moist and the rats ran freely under their feet but as third class passengers this was the best they could get. Tidus smiled and placed his bags on the other upper bunker, "ah, we are here finally, trip to Zanarkand my friend, we'll become rich once there" he said sending her a flashing smile. Rikku nodded excitedly, "perhaps you can become a Blitzball player, Tidus, you'll make your dream, and I'll be living in a city in which people depend completely in machina!" she added excitedly, her swirly green eyes staring at the boy with a very visible excitement. As an Al Bhed, Rikku's dreams was living somewhere where the incredible and helpful machina were used freely without the shadow of  Yevon's teachings. 

The Guados stared at them with something close to disgust, they followed Yevon's teachings obviously and thought machina would just bring problems, "you!" one of the Guados said in a husky, yet melodic voice. Tidus turned around, "me?" he asked curiously pointing at himself. The Guado nodded and stared at the girl with knowing eyes, "if you want to do something, and we are in here, be silent" he explained with a knowing glint in his eyes. Said that the Guado disappeared through the door leaving Tidus and Rikku in a state of shock, their cheeks flaming with a blush and their mouths open. The two friends stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, then both grinned, "do something? Pul'ease! We are just friends!" snapped Rikku in a joyful voice, breaking in a loud laughter. Tidus managed to look hurt, "ah, am I not good enough for you Rikku?" he said, his muscles tense as he worked hard not to smile. 

Rikku stopped laughing and walked torwards him, she placed both arms around his neck and stared up at him in a seductive way, "if you want to know, come to my chambers tonight" she whispered in a seductive, silent voice, keeping her lips close to his. Tidus closed his eyes and sighed, "Rikku, I hate when you do this…I'm a guy!" he moaned in a silent yet desiring voice. As a human being his body was to react to such effect, and that was what Rikku was expecting. She smiled knowingly and hit him softly in the back of his head, while she retreated laughing loudly. Tidus opened his eyes and glared at her angrily, "I tell you Rikku, I'm not responsible of what could happen one of this days if you keep doing that" Tidus snapped at her, although it was obvious he was smiling not able to contain it any more. Rikku turned around and stared at him with a knowing look crossing her features, "oh, really? I cant wait" she snapped grinning once again. Tidus smiled mischievously, "oh yeah? You've asked for it!" he said rubbing his fists. The boy rushed torwards the Al Bhed and tackled her onto the bed, sending the girl laughing onto the soft surface, "ah come on Tidus, you don't dare!" she threatened. Tidus laughed loudly, "oh, don't dare me, you know I will!" he warned. Rikku leaned in closer, "oh no, you wont dare, you never do afterwards" she said with a mischievous grin. The boy sent her a devilish smile, "oh you've asked for it!" he snapped. 

Inmediatly after he pressed his lips against her, not going deeper than a simple, friendly peck, but keeping them there for a little while. Rikku smiled a returned the feathery kiss, knowing well this meant absolutely nothing to them for they were just very close friends. Tidus pulled back and smiled at her, his cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment, he had never had Rikku's integrity and was bound to get embarrassed easily, "er…er…"he muttered not knowing what to say. Rikku raised her arms and smiled mischievously, "see? You cant even kiss me without getting embarrassed" she snapped knowingly. 

Tidus stared at her with disbelieving eyes, "wha? Oh, this time you're done for!" he snapped grinning. He sat up placing part of his weight over her stomach to keep her pinned down and reached out to tickle her sides. Rikku gasped loudly and started laughing like madman, slithering and twisting to get away from the boy's attack, but to no avail for his body was placed over her and keeping her pinned down. The girl reached out and started tickling him back, trying to keep and full as possible while still laughing loudly, receiving the pleasant and annoying feeling of tickles across her body. 

Tidus, taken by surprise by the unexpected attack, bent over and nearly fell, full weight over the smaller girl. However the young man turned around, still laughing hard, to avoid the slender and lighter body, falling off the bed and carrying the girl down with him. Now, Rikku on top of him, they kept tickling each other, but Tidus forced them both to turn around and ended right over her once more. The tickle attack had stopped and both layed on the floor, breathing heavily, Tidus over the girl, his messy hair even messier, and Rikku's braids looking more like a field of wheat that an  elephant has decided to stomp over than a mass of thick, golden hair. They didn't realize how close they were to each other, or how messy his clothes looked, or for how long they kept eye contact while regaining their breath, and definitely they didn't realize how suspicious they looked, but the truth is that was normal to them, it was not the first time they had one of those games. 

Right in that moment the first Guado, the one with spiky, green hair and mysterious, forest eyes, entered the room only to encounter both friend laying on the floor, a pleased smile on their lips and both of them breathing heavily. He gasped silently and stared at them with that annoying knowing glint, "see you couldn't wait? Wise choice then, I'll leave you alone so you can continue with your…er…doings" the Guado said in that same husky voice. He left the room once again after picking up something from his luggage, leaving once again a very red Tidus and a very amused Rikku. 

To Be Continued…

AN: Ok, don't bite my head off, this is not really good, the plot is interesting but I think I rushed it a bit. And no, Rikku and Tidus are just friends, sorry if to some it looked like weird but, in my culture, kissing on the lips, as in a peck is something completely natural within friends, just thought I'd point that out. Well, the writing might turn out better with the elaboration, but anyways read my other stories, I got some really good ones like Mistress of the Woodland, Journey of Chaos, Night of Changes, and perhaps another here and there. Anyways, well, hope you are enjoying and well, keep reading please. I should also point out a few things, I don't have the game, it's my very first FFX fic and the characters might be OOC, so forgive me for that. 

A last thing please, don't flame me, it's stupid cuz most of the times I'll just ignore you, however, constructive criticism is welcome, I want to become a better writer and a good critic will help me out a bunch. 


	2. The Origin and the Blitz

The engines started with a silent murmur only the workers could hear, the gentle rumble of the power boost was felt under the feet of the many passengers for a few seconds, but soon it finished as the ship started cutting the water strongly, slipping over it with ease. Both children rushed torwards the front part of the ship, laughing and joking all the way,attracting the attention of the many passengers pacing calmly across the wooden floor. Rikku leaned against the railing and stared at the ocean, her spiraled eyes glinting with the fascination she felt torwards the vast extention of water in front of them. A timid sun had started to rise only about an hour before they boarded, and it's still faint and cool rays of light coloured the rippling surface of salty fluid with a purperish, golden glow. With this effect, the surface of the water seemed like the glittering of purpurine floating lazily over the heads of a hundred teenagers at a macroparty, yet to Rikku it resembled the peace and calm of the silent and distant stars on the large, night sky. 

"Let's go there" Tidus said smiling at the girl, his manly hands pointing at the angle that the railing formed right in front of the ship, where the structure was designed to break open the water, and reduce friction.

Rikku nodded and both ran torwards there. Rikku climbed over the railing, keeping her feet over the second bar. She stood straight and oppened her arms to the sky, the gentle breeze licking her body tenderly. Tidus climbed after her and also oppened his arms, standing in balance behind the girl, eyes fixed on the purperish blue sky, where a few late stars still glinted. 

Rikku gasped, "Tidus, it's like flying! This is wonderful!" she exclaimed with joy, as if she had never seen anything more wonderful.

Tidus smiled at the girl and closed his arms around her waist. He lowered his head until his lips were close to her ear, "you are wondeful Rikku, I love you!" he whispered into her ear with a soothing, calm voice.

Rikku's eyes widdened, she had not expected that from him, her best friend. She lost her balance due to shock and leaned dangerously close to the edge of the railing. Tidus strong arms pulled her tighter against him, and he placed all his weight behind himself, sending the both of them against the hard floor. Tidus broke into a loud laughter as the blond Al Bhed turned to stare at him, still laying over his body.

"TIDUS!" She yelled angrily at him.

"Oh you should have seen your face, it was priceless!" Tidus snapped trying to make his words sound coherent in the uncontrolable attack of laughter he had.

Rikku started hitting him, yet not strong enough to hurt him, she was trying hard to look serious yet the sides of her lips twitched in a smile. The golden haired teen covered himself with his strong, muscular arms, still laughing loudly.

"Come on Rikku, I was joking, just joking!" he gasped, his breath gone from the continuous laughing, which still hadnt stopped.

From the area avaliable only to those passangers of first class, a woman observed the two teens enjoying themselves without any worry, her eyes were foggy with a dreamy state, yet a slight flame on envy burned in the blue and green orbs. The were having so much fun, it was obvious they were poor due to the bad quiality clothes they wore, a top and pirate shorts for the girl, and a shirt and pants for the boy, yet they asked for little more than a job and something to eat. And the most important for her, they had each other, someone to love and to be with forever. She didn't have any of that, all her childhood dreams, the perfect and charming knight in shinning armor, all vanished with her children days. Where had those dreams gone she didn't know, but she would search for them, she would.

"Yuna? Ah there you are, my dear" a familiar voice called behind her.

Yuna sighed, her daydreaming being disturbed once again with the responsibility of being a Summoner. She turned around and smiled at the woman, a middle aged Al Bhed, specially beautiful, yet her smile had not been genuine for she didn't think she could ever smile again.

"Yes mother?" she asked trying to sound interested.

"Yuna, lord Seymour has asked for your pressence at the table, breakfast will be served in little" the Al Bhed explained in a gentle, yet still slightly severe voice.

"oh, I forgot, he asked me to join him as soon as we boarded, I was too excited about this trip mother! Forgive me, we should go now, let's not make them wait any longer." Yuna gasped alarmed, yet all this was her ability to preform.

Yuna didn't feel at all interested to go to Zanarkand, yet her mother had decided to show her the wonders of machina. Still, the Summoner didn't trust machina, they had always brought problems and always will, she preffered the traditional way of life, in her calm little village, and enjoying her walks across the sandy beaches, she didn't think there would be beached in Zanarkand. But out of everything, she didn't want to see Seymour, her fiancee. It had all been prepared by her father, lord Braska, and as much as she respected her father, it angered her to have her future chosen, to not be able to walk her own path and find someone who she would truly love. Yet her father had thought it was a good idea, a plan to unite the tribes of Spira. Yuna being half Al Bhed, half human, and Seymour being half human half Guado, both important, a venerable man and the daughter of a great Summoner. Yuna cheered at the thought that perhaps, just perhaps, together they could bring the teachings of Yevon to Zanarkand and exterminate machina forever.

"Yuna! Oh Yuna, you are as beautiful as ever" said a voice.

Yuna snapped out of her thinking, they had reached a luxurious restaurant with enormous windows from which you could admire the ocean, the tables were neatly decorated and the furniture was made out of the richest woods. Her cold coloured eyes gazed into the handsome face of a Guado, he had fine, young features yet still reflecting the mistery all Guados had inside them. His forehead seemed to be crossed by some sort of birth sign of a pale, icy blue colour, a sort of root like symbol that spreaded neatly over his eyes. His hair was of an intense, dark blueish colour, but the strange strands formed a peculiar pattern, to Yuna it always had looked like the handle of a motorcycle, or the reins of a fine, cart horse.

"thank you Lord Seymour!" Yuna said smiling, she bowed over him and offered her hand, which was tenderly kissed by the welcoming man. 

It was true Yuna didn't love the man, and that sometimes she had thought about telling him the truth, but she respected him greatly, her father and his had been great and he was a Summoner more powerful than she'll ever be.

"call me just Seymour, my dear, come join us for breakfast, I guess you must be very hungry" he said and politely offered his arm.

Yuna accepted the offer and both made their way torwards the table, where other people were already sitting, her mother, a friend of her mother, Lady Lucie, and Cid, her mother's brother and arquitect of the ship. She was helped into a seat by her loving fiancee, and soon all helped themselves to a cup of warm coffee and some bacon and chocobo eggs to make a pleasant, and filling breakfast. 

"So tell me Cid, how is that you came with that name for the ship" Yuna's mother asked while resting he fork on the plate.

"well" Cid started looking slightly thoughtful, "while drawing the ship's structure I thought it needed a name, and since it was going to be the greatest machina ever created with exception of the Zanarkand Blitzball stadium, so it needed a name that emphasized that greatness!" he explained getting excited through his explanation.

"so you thought about Titanic, like the name of the Aeons in ancient, Al Bhed mythology, the Titans, isnt it?" deduced Seymour shaking his coffee with a tiny, silver spoon.

"Exactly! Very brilliant boy!" exclaimed Cid inflating his chest with pride about creating such a perfect name.

"it is said that this is the most secure machina ever created, isnt it?" Lady Lucie asked timidly, helpng herself right after to a sip of coffee.

"it is indeed, the metal is the best ever created, double bottom, then we have several chambers, so in case anything happens the chambers will close automatically and the ship wont be filled with water, sinking it, there is not a safest machine in all Spira!" Cid explained once again, his hands gesticulating animatedly.

"do we have the security of that?" Yuna, who had been calmly listening to the whole conversation, snapped all of a sudden in a tone that clearly showed desdain.

"Yuna!" exclaimed her mother alarmed, while all eyes turned to look at her with shock.

"I mean, do you think any machina in the world could escape the wrath of Yevon?" she asked making her point very clear.

"Yuna, what's wrong with you?" asked Seymour in a silent whisper that was filled with a threatening hiss.

"excuse me!" Yuna snapped angrily, throwing her napkin on the table and storming off the room.

Everyone stared at the retreating girl with surprise, only her mother understanding the prejudices against the machina. Yuna had been instructed in the teachings of Yevon and had always seen the machina as a sin, something evil and bound to make trouble, and traveling on one was not the think she liked the most.

It was nearly mid day now and the sun was high up in the sky, shinning with an intense, pale glow. The sky, a calm sort of blue, was speckled with small, pale clouds here and there, little threads of water vapor that floated lazily over their heads, never daring to grow and cover the briliance of the sun. Tidus and Rikku sat at one of the benches calmly, they were enjoying a rather peaceful time, while not letting their usual fun leave them. Rikku's eyes looked over at a small man in cloak moving around in a quiet, yet cautious way.

"I say he's a member of some mafia and is searching for a contact" Rikku explained with a smile.

Tidus looked over at the man with some interest, then he shook his head, "nah, I say he's just a common thief trying to steal people's money" he concluded with a passive sort of voice.

"ha, then he's gonna get a deception if he tries to steal from us, all he might catch is dust" Rikku laughed, she had no need to be sad about her situation, she was fine the way she was.

All of a sudden a large, muscular and strong man flew over a railing that was situated to keep people from falling off the stairs and platforms, and crashed right in front of Tidus and Rikku. He was a young man, over 23 years old, his features were rather rought and manly, deffinitely nothing like Tidus' innocent and even childlish features. His flaming hair was raised into a large crest, and he was dressed in a bright yellow, rubber suit, a Blitzball suit. 

"woah! Where did you come from?" Tidus asked in a high, shocked voice.

"owwwhh…" groaned the man while shifting slightly, trying to escape hopelessly to the pain in his right shoulder.

"I say someone beat him up and catapulted him here" Rikku snapped calmly yet bent down to help the man up.

"Rikku! That's not funny!" Tidus snapped but his lips were curved in a smile, while his tone played serious and scolding.

"owwww…she's right, yah…sort of…was playing Blitzball yah, and…arg that Ronso…beast yah" the man moaned displeased, angry and deffnitely aching.

Tidus gasped, "Blitzball? What where you guys doing playing Blitzball in the middle of the ocean?" Tidus snapped very shocked. He had seen them playing in pool, practicing in beaches, lakes and forest, but in the middle of an ocean? That was new.

The man raised his eyes at him slowly, disbelief crossed his pained features, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows raised, "you gotta be kidding, yah? There is a small Blitzball pool back there yah!" the man snapped trying hard not to believe the clueless features in Tidus' face were genuine.

Tidus' face lit and his eyes glowed with fascination, "really? Can I join you?" he asked almost in a pleading voice, excited about the fact that he could enjoy some time playing Blitzball.

The man sighed and rolled his eyes, ok,so he was being serious about the ocean part. Rikku laughed realizing how hillarious the situation was, and how clueless and dumb Tidus was being, but Rikku knew of the boy's natural inocence and that made them best friends.

"yah man, you can, my name is Wakka!" the red haired man introduced himself extending a hand, now able to stand straight as the pain had vanished from his now numb and sore shoulder.

"I'm Tidus and that's Rikku" Tidus said happily shaking the man's hand vigorously,his intense blue eyes looking over at Rikku.

Wakka looked over at the blonde girl and back and the beaming and joyful Tidus, who still looked like he had won the lottery. He smiled knowingly at both of them but said nothing, they sure looked very attached, but perhaps they were brothers, they sure looked alike, with the golden hair and gentle features.

"nice to meet yah, let's go play some Blitz!" Wakka shook Rikku's hand and raised a fist to the sky excitedly.

 The blonde teenager gasped at the magnificency of the great, water orb that seemed to float lazily into a gap at the back of the ship, a transparent gap made out of crystal that allowed the players access the play orb while still permitting the observers watching the game. Tidus smiled at the large, water sphere, it was like an enormous orb made out of a rippling crystal, sun reflecting back and creating a sort of pale glitter on several points making it look like a gigantic, pale sapphire. A few people were swimming through the orb, little creatures, like tiny bacterias compared to the greatness of the small, improvised stadium, and Tidus couldn't stop wondering how they made such an enormous thing fit so easily into a ship, was it really that big?

"wow, this is amazing, let's go Tidus" Rikku commented in a completely awed voice.

Wakka laughed loudly, "you? Play? What would you do? Yah, Girls are never good at Blitzball, you cant have the strength a man has, yah" he said looking down at the Al Bhed making his point clear.

Rikku placed both hands on her hips angrily, her eyebrows narrowed and her spiralled eyes staring at the red haired with anger, the burning feeling of rage moving acros her blood like a current of flaming fire, spreading across her body and colouring her skin an intense red. Tidus looked back upon hearing this, he too feeling angry at the man, Rikku was his best friend and he knew she was not bad at all at playing Blitz.

"hey, cut it out man, she can play too!" he snapped angrily, pointing at the blitz player with a threatening finger.

"woah, chill, didn't mean to insult her or anything!" Wakka answered rasing both hands up in the sky in a surrending way, yet this knowing smile seemed to play in his lips.

"I'll show you!" Rikku snapped still in a tense voice.

The golden haired Al Bhed leapt into the sphere and swam agily across the water, she made a swift spin and dived down, taking the ball from a very shocked player that was about to shoot. The girl placed the ball next to her, a hand on her waist, the dark blue, irregular sphere situated in the triangular gap her arm formed. She looked at them proudly and let the ball loose. The girl made a 360º turn over herself and punched the ball with all the strenght her arms could gather. The ball moved swiftly across the field, going past a few, very shocked players and ending right into the goal, nearly sending the ball across the thick net.

Wakka nodded at the Al Bhed and soon leapt into the orb, closely followed by a positively stunned Tidus. He had seen her  play but that shoot had been so cool, nothing like he had ever seen, a mix of Blitzball and boxing to be more exact. As soon as the teams were done the game started, a frantic game of swarming people, swimming as quickly as their muscular bodies could take them. It wasn't long till the competitive bacteria that slept into them awoke creating a rather thick and unpleasant tension, and a very cruel and bloody game as was usual in great teams like the Zanarkand Abes and the Besaid Aurochs. 

Tidus was punched rather strongly by a very vicious looking Ronso, the one, he deduced, that had catapulted Wakka into the next section of the ship. Rikku swam with the agility of a snake across the water and it wasn't long till the ball was back into her arms and being pushed into the goal, the enormous speed it carried parting the water, creating an effect similar to a comet with it's tail. The ball passed throught the nervous goalkeeper's hands and hit the net, rolling against it. Te red haired player gave Rikku the thumbs up and smiled pleased at her, nodding so she knew he thought that had been a good shot.

Wakka managed to punch a Guado out of his way and take the ball from his hands, but as he approached the goal was soon surounded by three players, one of which was the temerary Ronso that had already introduced his fist to him. He looked around worried and decided upon the obvious. He threw the ball with great strength torwards the new player, but as soon as his hands let go of the item the three players zoomed past him and rushed to attack Tidus. 

Tidus received the ball with his forehead, stopping it's race torwards the edge of the sphere. He dived swiftly under the lazy and numb item and hit it full force with his head, sending it fliying torwards the surface. The edge of the water sphere broke into million pieces where the ball made it's way into the air and breathable athmosphere. Tidus gathered all his strength and impulsed himself upwards under the very shocked eyes of a certain red headed and the pleased and proud gaze of a loving friend.

The boy leapt out of the water like structure and flew into the air, reaching the ball and swiftly turning in a backwards leap fashion to hit the ball with his foot. That's when he first saw her, her gentle features staring distractedly at the Blitzball game preformed by third class passengers, her dirty brown hair floating like mist with the gentle breeze. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, yet her pretty face seemed written with a quill of sadness, anger and deception. 

To Be Continued…

AN: I'd like to thank all those people who reviewed, they are truly helpful. However in this chapter I tried some new style, what do you think loks better, this or the previous chapter? Perhaps the other has a much more exquisite writing? I don't know.

Oh, and as response to that wonderful critic, well, it was really nice, thank you, I highly apreciate your words and well, you gave me some good hints. However as for the fact of letting reviewers who havent signed in review, well, no because in my story Unbreakable Bonds I got very nasty reviews that didn't judge my writing style or the plot or anything, but they attacked me because of the way I wrote the story compared to the game Final Fantasy IX, and personally, as my story it was, the game is simply an inexistent background from which I grabbed a few elements.

Oh and forgive me for my OOC characters, I try to make them as IC as possible but I got carried away a bit in the first chappy, I have a friend that's just like that. ^_^0

Well, hope you are enjoying it, please, keep reading, it'll get more interestng as the story goes on, more action and stuff.


	3. Fallen and Picked Back

The boy was so absorbed into the vision that flashed before his ocean eyes that he forgot completely about the game he was playing. Slow motion, his descent was all in slow motion, for his mind floated in a hazy dream. Then the pain coursed through his skin, shots of an uncomfortable burning feeling when his body collided with the water in a wrong angle, absorbing the impact. He would have gasped, but he knew better than to do such underwater, his trained skills at Blitzball.

"Man, what do ya think ya'r doin, yah?" called Wakka in an angered voice, once the players were out of the sphere.

Tidus didn't answer, he was sitting with his head low, still breathing heavily at the loss of air he had suffered from the terrible impact. He raised his head to gaze at the deck where the young angel had been spotted. There she was, observing the horizon and seeing nothing, so sad, so depressed, so lifeless. Suddenly a Guado man came, grabbed her arm and they engaged in a discussion, then they fled from scenery.

"Ah man, forget her, she's not for ya!" the red headed commented, seeing the place where Tidus' eyes had been resting, and finding the deadly mermaid.

"I think he's right Tidus, she's a millionaire, and you are third class, you will never reach her!" Rikku explained worriedly, staring at her best friend with the caring eyes of a sister.

"I know!" Tidus said giving in to the obvious, lowering his head and sighing deeply.

Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Lips pursed and blew a cloud of pale smoke, rancid and with a thick odour of burnt plants and acidic substances. Pale eyes gazed at the dark depths of the vast ocean, veiled by a velvet film of dark blue, splashed by millions of glittering stars. Tidus had needed some fresh air, hence he had come out from his room, just to clear his mind and have a cigar. Then destiny raced behind his oblivious back, wearing high heels and a tight, red dress that glittering with purpurine. The young man turned around and saw the girl he had seen before, running rapidly, desperate, her face sprinkled with tears. He pursued her silently, keeping distance only to observe and see her intentions.

The young woman reached the edge of the ship's back. She looked at the enormous height, the raging turbines propelling the monstrous machine forward. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, a knot of fear twisting in the pit of her stomach, and her terrible sadness and loneliness blinding her coherence. The wealthy girl climbed up the railings and stood on the other side, preparing herself, ready to do it, she was going to jump, nothing will stop her.

"It's kind of dangerous being there, you know?" Tidus commented passively, leaning forward to catch a better look at the other side of the railing, and taking a zip of his cigar. "But you have one heck of looks!" he finished with a grin.

"Who are you? What do you want? Go away or I'll jump!" Yuna shrieked hysterically.

"I was just enjoying the fresh night, and anyways, if you had wanted to jump you would have already done it!" the man commented calmly, smiling at the girl through his sparkling, intelligent eyes.

"And just who do you think you are to consider my priorities?" gasped the woman, now more enraged than unhappy.

"Me? Nobody, I am simply a third class passenger who doesn't have the right to give his opinion!" Tidus said tearing his gaze away from the girl, gazing at the black horizon and taking a deep breath of his cigar.

"Then why don't you go and leave me alone?" Yuna gasped annoyed, narrowing her eyebrows and glaring at the boy angrily.

"Because now I feel involved!" the boy cast a sparkling gaze at the woman, "and if you jump I'll have to jump after you, and honestly, I don't really want to do that, I mean it's really high, and the impact could pretty much kill me, and if it doesn't the sharks from this tropical waters would!" Tidus explained looking down with a disgusted gaze.

The girl stared at the boy thoughtfully, something seemed to light in her mind upon observing the handsome boy. Nobody had ever been that thoughtful towards her, in his very own eccentric way, but he was. A smile played on her fresh lips, and the girl turned around, gazing at the extended hand Tidus was presenting her. Joy, happiness, it was a new, welcomed feeling for her, and fear shook her entire soul when her high heels slipped and she was forced down by her own weight. And all she could do was yell, pray help and cry in terror.

Tidus used his magnificent reflexes and caught a tight grip of her before she could fall completely. His face contracted, and his muscles inflated at the effort. The boy used all the strength he could gather, and pulled her back on the deck. They collapsed on the deck, both breathing heavily, Tidus leaning over her with worry and staring at her beautiful figure.

"Are you ok?" the boy inquired with concern.

"Yes!" Yuna answered with a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Hey!" yelled an enraged man.

Three figures appeared all of a sudden, the creator of the ship, Lord Seymour, and a guard. The guard tackled Tidus away from Yuna and pressed him against the railing of the ship, where his hands were tied with spouses. Seymour aided Yuna to stand up, and Tidus saw with an inner delight that the girl grimaced in disdain at the touch.

"Well, what did you think you were doing on MY ship!" gasped Cid angrily, threatening Tidus with a punch.

"I…I was doing nothing, she slipped and I just helped her back on!" Tidus said slightly altered, knowing well it was pointless because this people would never believe a third class passenger.

"Yeah, that's what you want to make us believe! You criminal!" yelled the Guado angrily, staring at the woman with tender eyes.

"Oh Seymour, stop it! It's true, I leaned too much over the railings and slipped! It was a luck Mr… er… Mr…" Yuna explained, getting rid of the grip her fiancée was placing on her.

"Tidus!" the young boy introduced himself with a light grin.

"Exactly, Tidus!" Yuna smiled embarrassed, her long conversation with the boy and she ignored her name.

"Oh, all right, let him free!" Cid ordered severely, hence his eyes still gazed at the boy with a terrible look of distrust.

"Why Seymour, aren't you going to price the boy for saving your fiancée?" inquired Yuna knowingly.

"Oh…well, ok dear!" Seymour seemed annoyed by this remark from his girlfriend, "Mr Tidus, you are invited to dine with us tomorrow!" the guado said motioning at the man, hence not even looking at him.

Then the group retreated, hence a last, sparkling glance was sent from Yuna. Tidus smiled to himself, feeling all of a sudden as if he had won the lottery. He would have yelled, he would have screamed out his joy, but that would make matters far more suspicious than they already where.

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"That she did what?" shrieked Rikku in her hysterical, high pitched voice.

"She invited me tomorrow night for dinner!" Tidus exclaimed all too excited, he was back at his chambers, and his face was illuminated with some sort of delight Rikku had never seen. "Not even when he is with me!" the girl thought depressively, feeling a slight pang of burning pain scratching her insides.

"Oh, come on Tidus!" Rikku snapped regaining her humour, "you are pulling it on me, the whole story is too…unbelievable!" the young girl finished with a knowing smile, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm serious, you'll see tomorrow!" Tidus pointed out, feigning hurt.

"Ok, ok, I'll believe you then, but anyways I don't think it's such a good idea!" Rikku commented now more seriously, tossing her feet nervously.

"Why not? She's such a wonderful woman, delicate, beautiful, well mannered, and with that innocent personality!" Tidus' eyes were directed to the ceiling dreamily, his words spoke nothing but wonders about the young Summoner.

"And is annoyingly wealthy!" snapped Rikku angrily, narrowing her eyebrows and staring at the boy with her spiralled eyes fixed on his aqua blue ones.

"So what?" snapped Tidus detecting her voice, and oblivious about the reasons that impulse this change, "That's not bad, she'll pull us out of the streets!" he finished.

"She'll pull YOU out of the street, and anyways, you are not serious about having a relation with her, are you?" the Al Bhed inquired, now gazing at her friend with disbelief.

"Why not?" inquired Tidus raising an eyebrow, innocent tones playing in his voice.

"Oh Tidus, you can't be serious!" snapped Rikku frustrated, raising her arms abruptly, "She is rich, you are poor, she will marry a rich man and you will marry a poor woman, unless hunger kills you first!" the girl pointed out sharply.

"Maybe she'll want to be with me!" Tidus snapped defensively.

"Maybe she'll do what she was told to, and marry that Guado guy!" Rikku pointed out angrily, raising her voice and glaring at Tidus.

"Will you two shut up already? We want to sleep!" the forest eyed Guado yelled from his bed.

Both huffed angrily and glared at the Guado for a brief second. Rikku then walked towards her bunker and climbed up, her paces careful as to not touch Tidus any bit. The boy did the same, getting under the dusty covers of his bed and not even directing a gaze at the woman who was his best friend.

"What's gone to her?" thought the boy angrily, his illusions faded when he realized Rikku was not going to leap of joy for his excellent luck.

On the upper bunker Rikku was coiled on a little ball, her knees pressed against her small breasts, her hands gripping the rough bed cloth tightly, almost painfully. She bit her leap strongly until it turned white, the metallic flavour of blood colonizing her mouth. Spiralled eyes squinted several times, and the vision of darkness blurred. She didn't know why, but she felt a terrible ache tearing her from deep inside. However, she kept her sobbing silent, feeling spasms from time to time, yet keeping her shameful animosity into the other men's oblivion.

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Tidus sat on one of the new and polished benches of the deck. He was drawing, a dusty paper and a piece of charcoal did the wonders of his entertainment. The boy was portraying one of the wealthy men's pet, an elegant and proud Vihur with a rather sharp temper. He was alone, having woken up this morning and finding Rikku was gone from her bed. Searching for her would have been futile, she was a master at hiding, and would never be found if she didn't want to. Eyes were placed with attention on his work, however busy mind ran through last night's scene. What went over her, he ignored, but deduced that she cared for him much than to let him get hurt. This assumption made him even more furious, egocentric soul telling him that he could take care of himself.

"Those pictures are very good!" Said a voice behind him, a shadow falling upon him, darkening the paper into a bluish grey.

Tidus looked up to meet the bearer of such shadow. It was…

To Be Continued…

AN: Ok, it's been so long since I last updated this fiction, but now I'm back to the battle. I believe it was just one of the reviewers from my last FF fic, Human Spirit, who unknowingly convinced me to continue this. I can't remember his name, and I'm sorry, too bad for names :p. Anyways, please read and review, I know it's not like my best work, but I thought it would be nice to finish it and see what came of it.


	4. Feasting with Rats

Tidus looked up to meet the bearer of such shadow. It was none other than the girl who had captured his heart and chained it hard and tight. Yuna was gazing at the pictures with a look of utmost surprise, and a blissful delight seemed to float within her cherry lips.

"Just some entertainment!" Tidus answered with a broad smile, one that lit his gentle features.

"I've come tot ell you a few tips about tonight!" she began staring back and forth as if seeking for spying eyes.

"Tips?" inquired Tidus bewildered, observing the girl's simple and fresh dress.

"What will you be wearing tonight?" the girl asked gazing at him with curious eyes, reflecting through her innocent features.

Tidus gazed down at himself, pointing with his extended arms at his white shirt, open through the chest, and the dark brown pants. The clothes were all but in perfect state, ragged and torn here and there, they looked very old and battered, although they were clean.

"I thought so." Yuna sighed for herself, motioning at the boy to follow her, "come with me!" she told the boy walking away.

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Rikku saw the two walk away, vanish into the depths of the ship's corridors. She was well hidden in the shadows, where nobody could see her, and the clothes of her choice helped to blend her in with the darkness that reigned in the gaps between the safety boats. Her spiralled eyes began to itch, and an instant later a flood of water poured from them, her lips curled and her stomach diminished in size under a tight pressure. She felt a terrible pain hitting her heart, a grief like that which she had never known before, and a sensation of loss that hit her strong and sharp into her soul.

"Tidus!" she breathed in through ragged sobs and silent convulsions.

The young woman was unable to understand why she felt so depressed, so lonely and unhappy upon seeing her friend enjoying the time of his life in the ship. It was true, however, that she missed him more than ever now, although her mind had contradictory ideas. She wanted to see him happy, as much as she cared for him, and also she wanted to be happy herself, as selfish as it might seem. After all, he was her best friend!

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"Here, try this on. I think it might be almost your size." Yuna pointed out, extending a very elegant tunic of a pale white, purple and black motives.

"Me? That? No way, it's your Fiancee!" snapped Tidus staring at the tunic hungrily, hence with some hesitation.

"Don't be such a fool, Tidus, you can't come to the Grand Saloon dressed in such…rags!" Yuna took a disdainful glance at the clothes.

"Why not?" inquired Tidus innocently, hence his inquiry was far from such, and his sentence hid a second meaning, words of rebellion.

"Well, the most important and wealthiest people of Spira are on this ship!" the girl explained, still presenting the beautiful tunic to the boy.

Tidus, reluctantly, grabbed the clothes and went to the next room to change and try them on.

"Well, so what are you doing on the ship?" inquired Tidus from the next room.

"I'm going to Zanarkand, to extend the word of Yevon through the City of Machina!" Yuna explained proudly, her voice delighted at her mission, but a hint of sadness filled her.

"Well, it's a plan I guess, but why go against the thoughts of a whole city's population" Tidus inquired poking his head out to stare at the woman seriously.

"What? Because it's the correct thing!" snapped Yuna almost angrily, staring at the boy as if she had been personally insulted.

"And just who tells you that is the correct thing?" asked Tidus again, almost innocently, but gazing at the woman seriously.

"Yev…" Yuna began but stopped dry in her tracks. She had never asked herself that question, only followed the orders and the words she had been told blindly, without questioning herself what was right or wrong. Her father had told her it was their path, so she followed it. Her mother told her that wedding was what had to happen for the sake of Spira and Yevon, and she followed obediently without asking herself what she really wanted.

"See? Nothing is right, and nothing is wrong. They are just beliefs, and you have to respect them just as they must respect you!" Tidus said vanishing back into the room.

Yuna thought for a few seconds about those words, words that were so young, naïve, and spoken in the flame of youth, and at the same time so full of wisdom. It wasn't like anything she had ever thought about, but immediately she knew those words would keep ringing in her mind forever.

"Are you an Al Bhed?" inquired Yuna innocently.

"Who, me? Why?" asked Tidus poking his head out of the door to gaze at her curiously.

"I don't know, your looks, and your thinking!" Yuna answered thoughtfully, gazing at him.

"My looks? I don't have funny spiralled eyes!" Tidus chuckled at his own words, remembering with a slight pang of guilt the green orbs of his best friend.

"I have Al Bhed blood, and I don't have spiralled eyes!" Yuna said not joining him in his laughter.

"Well, I wouldn't know, maybe my mom was Al Bhed, can't remember, well, how do I look?" Tidus came out of the room, dressed completely, and looking like a child with new shoes.

"Perfect!" Yuna exclaimed with a happy, delighted smile.

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"Then you are going to that dinner with all those vultures in eagle skin!" Rikku exclaimed once in the dirty, auster chambers they had been placed into, her tone dry.

"Yep, I think it'll be one cool experience!" Tidus commented delighted, not catching the voice the woman had been emphasizing.

"Have fun then!" the girl said turning around, not daring to look at the boy in the eyes.

"Rikku!" Tidus said trying to catch her attention, "I hope you could come with me!" he said truthfully, staring at the woman with soft, gentle eyes.

"There is a party at the third class dining room." The girl said turning around to stare at the boy with sympathy, "see you there after ok?" she said gently, smiling weakly.

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Tidus was waiting at the entrance of the Grand Saloon, watching the crème of Spira come back and forth. Various of them directed him curious glances, interested, several women shot him sweet and insinuating smiles, all accompanied by old men. Most, however, were completely indifferent to his presence. Then his eyes glittered like sparkling snow, there, coming down the stairs with a careful pace, was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

"Yuna…" he sighed staring at her eagerly and hungrily, absorbing every inch of her beauty.

The girl simply smiled at him with an innocent look sparkling in her delicate features. Tidus bowed, and presented his arm to be held by the young girl. Intertwined their arms, both entered the Grand Saloon to dine. Tidus knew the basics about manners, explained rushed and rapid by Yuna the previous afternoon, so he was not so worried. OR wasn't until they were seated and the boy saw a collection of cutlery he had never seen.

"Are all this for me?" he gasped in a chocked whisper.

"Start from outside to inside!" Yuna whispered in a hushed voice.

"So Tidus, how is life in third class?" inquired Seymour, sneering at him maliciously.

"Well, it's ok, the food is chewable, and I see most of the rats are up here!" Tidus answered, glaring at him. He was delighted to see Seymour inflating his chest with fury, and trying to keep the desire of punching his face.

"Tidus!" hissed Yuna under her breath, touching him lightly from under the table to keep him silent.

The boy simply stared at her with a look that clearly said "He was looking for it!", and Yuna could only response with a warning glance at him to keep his manners while sitting on this table.

"Well, why is Lord Tidus going to Zanarkand?" inquired Yuna's mother staring at him with familiar curiosity.

"I want to be a Bliztball player, and I've heard the Zanarkand Abes is the best Blitzball team in whole Spira!" Tidus explained with pride, smiling brightly.

"Yes, an old friend of mine was a Blitzball player at the Zanarkand Abes!" commented Lord Auron, Yuna's Guardian, "Poor idiot had a wonderful life, a beautiful Al Bhed wife, a wonderful son, and he ignored them both. The brat got himself killed driving home one night after one of his wild parties." He finished, shaking his head sadly.

"I can't remember my father, and my mother died when I was young, so I have been living in the streets since then!" Tidus explained shaking his head, them smiling lightly to show the presents he was fine with his luck.

"That is so sad!" Yuna commented looking bewildered.

"I'm fine, I can't change it, why mourn over it?" inquired Tidus shaking his head, then grinning.

"It is still sad!" Yuna commented looking at her almost empty plate.

"Yuna, stray dogs are happy with their luck as long as they can find some garbage to eat!" Seymour commented, sneering at Tidus, hitting him where it hurt.

"Yes, the best of it is the freedom to do as you wish every time, not being conditioned by some stupid and foolish manners only so nobody criticises you!" Tidus said with a delighted smile, watching with a mischievous joy how the Lord was becoming more and more irritated.

"Well, men, I believe it's time for dessert!" Cid commented standing up and kissing the hands of the various women that accompanied him for dinner, "My ladies, it has been a pleasure to be able to share dinner with you!".

"What are they doing?" inquired Tidus bewildered at their behaviour.

"Now the men are leaving to smoke and praise themselves for being the owners of the Universe!" Yuna commented in a soft whisper, looking at the group of men retreating with a look of sad disgust.

"Would you like to join us, Tidus?" Seymour said with a disdainful look at the boy, without calling him with the polite title of Lord, nor being considered worth it.

"No thanks, the bed bugs are waiting to be fed!" Tidus sneered at the boy, feeling angry at his courage.

The men retreated and Tidus simply stared at them with a bewildered look of surprise, not catching the main idea of such meeting. He took a hold of a napkin and a pen (borrowed from Sir Auron) and scribbled a quick note without being noticed. He then placed the note in Yuna's hand when he held it to kiss it.

"I'll see you Yuna!" he winked so faintly only her closeness detected it.

He retreated, then Yuna gathered the courage to read the mysterious note, her insides burning with curiosity.

"Meet me at the entrance if you'd like to join me to a real party!" read the note in a very untidy handwriting.

"Excuse me!" she coughed at the women, pretending to be tired and retreating to her chambers.

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Tidus stood calmly at the base of the staircase. His blue eyes glimmered, and his lips were forced to stay calm, passive, without grinning. He had heard Yuna approaching, he could almost see the calm and mannered smile plastered on her delighted lips. Was that a secret eager he could sense sparkling in her eyes? Indeed, the girl couldn't wait to see, to become part of this real party.

"Yuna! You've come!" Tidus chocked happily, turning around and smiling at the woman.

"I have!" Yuna responded with a smile, and nodding vigorously as it was in her character.

"Come on!" Tidus grinned and held her hand to drag her out of opulence and immerse her into the ease and simplicity of third class people.

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Music roared across the room. The tables were mouldy, humid and nearly rotten. A rancid smell of spirits alcohol filled the room, which made Yuna curl her nose disgusted at first. A cloud of thick smoke floated lazily around the ceiling, observing the people beneath the shapeless form. People drank, played games, smoked, and dance as if it was their very last one. Yuna wouldn't have been surprised if a stallion came prancing along.

"Tidus!" gleamed a girl who came stumbling across the people to join them.

"Rikku!" beamed the boy as if she was the last woman on earth, "come, let me introduce you to Yuna. Yuna, this is my best friend, Rikku!" the boy explained.

"Oh, hi!" Rikku was surprised to see the girl joining them here, but, although her presence made her feel uncomfortable, she smiled pleased and resumed her giddy personality.

"A pleasure to meet you!" Yuna said with a bright smile.

"Yuna, would you like to dance?" Tidus offered presenting his hand at her.

"Oh, no, I don't know how to dance this music!" she shook her head, "All I can dance is the Song of the Faiths, to send the souls towards the Farplane." She finished smiling sadly and shaking her head.

"Come on, you just have to follow the music!" Tidus insisted, his eyes glittering.

"Oh…no Tidus, please, I'd rather see you and try after, ok?" Yuna responded with a timid smile.

"Ok then, Rikku?" Tidus then turned to look at the young Al Bhed.

Rikku had been absent, gazing sideways, feeling as if a terrible hand was crushing her heart with cruelty. She had never felt that way before, so miserable, as if nothing she could say would heal the terrible pain that throbbed in her soul. It was then that she heard her name, pronounced in the most gentle and sweetest voice she could ever desire. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, caressing the walls with the tips of such silky structure. Blue eyes stared back at her green ones when she looked up. Such blue eyes that were part of the ocean, gazing at her with a blazing sparkle. Happiness, joy, and some kind of hidden emotion seemed to reflect past the truthful orbs.

"Ok!" she smiled and giggled at the youngster.

Both went to the centre and Rikku's hands intertwined with the larger, manly ones of Tidus. They approached, then retreated, turned around themselves, swirled here and there like a whirlpool, to finally land into a calmer pace and a smaller gap between the both.

Yuna saw with pain in her eyes that there was something she could never compete against, her noble nature and the truth her eyes were revealing created a thick wall of immense height she could not get past. The way they nearly stopped, their paces slower, the eyes locked into each other's. A delighted smile had vanished, a smoother, more gentle grin to curve the slips slightly. The way the girl gazed at him eagerly, almost hungrily. Tidus' blue eyes sparkling with a warmth only she could ever dream of receiving. At the same time, the oblivion in which this sentiments lay hidden under the thick, impenetrable veil of friendship.

The woman held her breath, taking in a deep gulp of viced oxygen. The couple had come to a stop, eyes locked, lips slightly parted, and breathing uneasy. They seemed to be leaning in, Rikku's lips pursed eagerly, desire ignited in their hearts. Yuna could only be glad to see such demonstration of care, although inside her it was eating her alive.

When it seemed that the both of them would join lips…

To Be Continued…

AN: Sorry for the delay but I have had a busy week and couldn't reach my computer. Anyways here it is, the next chapter, and I hope to be going on with this and finish it soon. I'll try to post the next chapter for Human Spirit as well, just give me some time. Well, how are you liking this? Please, review.


	5. The Star of Spira

When it seemed that the both of them would join lips a drunken man came to slam the uncontrollable body against Rikku's and drag her away several metres. Rikku was tough, but the man was strong and without control, hence he gripped the woman tightly.

"Get off you bastard, or I'll kick your ass to the chimney of this ship!" she attempted at pushing him, however the grip was tight.

Tidus was not going to dialogue with a drunk man, hence he used what worked best in this situations. His fist was introduced to the red face of the man, making him loose balance and stumble backwards at the time he release Rikku to touch the aching spot. This girl retreated to where Tidus was, and rubbed the dusty clothes disgusted, while facing the man angrily.

"Jerk!" Tidus spat at the man, who lay whimpering on the floor.

"I'll remember your face, imbecile!" Rikku responded clenching her fists angrily.

Yuna was startled at the behaviour of this men. However she realized it wasn't so different as their very own behaviour, rules might change, but stupidity was equal to both groups. Then, she smiled and joined Tidus and Rikku, throwing away her shell of timidity and dancing, drinking and smoking, having fun like this men only knew, without manners, rules or people speaking about you if you do something wrong.

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A refreshing shower to take off the stench of alcohol and smoke, and Yuna was soon dressed on her sleeping gown and with her features tidied up. It had been a luck that Seymour was still feasting his wealth with the proud men, so her disappearance had passed unnoticed. That was the path her train of thoughts was taking when the door to her room opened, and the guado entered the chambers with a pleased look gleaming in his eyes.

"Hello Yuna!" he said sweetly, staring amorously at the woman who was placidly seated on the bed.

"Hi." Yuna said with a silent sigh, faking a delighted smile.

"I have brought you something, it was supposed to be my wedding gift for the night of our marriage, but I'd rather give it to you now." Seymour explained walking towards her with a gentle smile, and sitting softly next to her.

"What is it?" the Summoner was not the least excited about his gifts, but feigned well.

The man simply stared at her with a pleased sparkle in his eyes. He pulled out an elongated, navy blue, velvet box and presented it to the woman. With a tender movement from his hands, the box opened with a swift click. This time, Yuna's surprise was not feigned, for her smile faded to be replaced by the utterly shocked features.

It was a pendant, a silver string that sustained a small silver hook, this last one gripping the most beautiful jewel Yuna had ever seen. A dark blue stone, shaped like a star with endless arms. It did sparkle with an inner light that Yuna knew well where it irradiated from, the energy this astounding jewel contained was immense.

"The Star of Spira!" Yuna gasped finally with a ragged whisper.

"Indeed, my beauty, I want to make you the most powerful Summoner of all." Seymour said placing a gentle kiss on the woman's forehead.

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"Fun party, yah?" Wakka commented the next day on the deck, a sunny day that promised warm.

"Yeah, it sure was!" Tidus commented breathing in the warm, salty air.

"What was with you and Rikku last night?" Wakka inquired with a gleaming smile illuminating his eyes.

"With me and Rikku?" Tidus chocked on his own words when analyzing the question.

"Yah, I mean, yah did almost kiss back there, yah know?" Wakka mentioned with a light, knowing smile, gazing sideways at the boy.

"There is nothing between us!" Tidus snapped almost furiously, gazing at the humid wood of the deck.

"Yah, if it wasn't because you are poor, I'd say you are the weatherman." Wakka commented shrugging.

"Hu? Why?" Tidus gazed at the man curiously, his blush and slight discomfort vanished.

"Because you are less convincing than a wall, yah!" Wakka spat at him.

"Oh, come on Wakka, we are just friends!" the young boy spat at the older one frustrated.

"Yah, whatever, I'm going to play Blitzball, if you see Rikku tell her to come, yah?" Wakka stood up from his seated position and retreated on a light jog towards the Blitzball field.

"Indeed, I wonder where Rikku's gone this time." Tidus told himself thoughtfully.

Tidus rested by the clear sun, gazing everyway as if secretly expecting to see the young woman emerge from the current of people that swarmed here and there, enjoying the fresh morning. His thoughts were to be soon interrupted by a distant familiar presence. A thick, strong man blocked his vision. He was aged, nearing his fifties, with greying hair streaked in white strands. Pale blue eyes gazed at him intently, wisely, and almost nostalgic. His thin lips were hidden under the high neck of a long, red coat, and an arm was hidden as it was weaker than the other, almost useless.

"Sir…sir Auron?" Tidus inquired gazing at the man curiously.

"Yes Tidus, come with me, we need to talk!" Auron explained, his tone cold and impassive.

The man began walking towards the higher deck. Tidus followed, keeping his drawing folder tightly gripped on his hand. He was curious about the reason why this man might have summoned him, but remained in the thick, dense silence that seemed to delight the mature man. When it seemed like they would walk around the ship until ending in the very same spot, Auron stopped dry, such that Tidus was a step from colliding with him.

"Tidus, what I am going to tell you is very tough, but I thought you should know." Auron began, never shooting a gaze at the boy, never crossing eyes with him.

The boy said nothing, his gaze was a mixture from confusion to a bewilderment that made him consider the mental state of this man. Auron seemed vaguely familiar to him, not from dinner, but from beyond that, however the way he seemed to confide in him was exasperating.

"You look just like your mother, same eyes, almost," Auron chuckled at this affirmation, turning this time to look at the boy right in the eyes, "same hair, same sweet temper, and the way your features are so young, even to your age, you can only be Al Bhed." Auron finished smiling at the boy almost father like.

"Al Bhed? ME? You are crazy!" Tidus spat at him, gazing at his tan hands thoughtfully.

"Your mother was called Sophie, and she died when you were seven years old, three years after the demise of your father." Auron explained staring at the boy directly.

Tidus turned his face abruptly, landing his gaze upon the golden and blue surface of the ocean. The water rippled calmly, sparkling with the intensity of millions of stars floating over a dark sky, the afternoon sun gliding and surfing across the calm liquid.

"I can remember my father, he was always drunk!" Tidus began in a calm, dispassionate voice, "but my mother would always love him all the same." He sighed never tearing his gaze away.

Auron observed the boy with sympathy, his blue eyes sparkled with a calid look that denoted some sort of friendly care towards the kid.

"And then he simply died one day. I know I didn't cry, I had always hated him for being cruel to me, although he never touched my mother. Then I hated him because he made mom cry for many days." Tidus looked down with a sigh, and he felt a shameful tear drop from his eyes.

"Your father would never let you cry!" Auron commented, facing the boy with the hidden fears that pursued his past, "He would say it was weak, right?" he finished.

"Right!" Tidus said upon swallowing his grief, then turned to stare at the old man with a suspicious look, "How do you know all that?" he inquired staring at the man.

"Because I was a good friend of Jecht, Tidus, your father was a well known blitz player, for the Zanarkand Abes." Auron explained staring at the boy, and placing a strong hand upon his shoulder to comfort him.

"Was that all you were trying to tell me?" Tidus inquired, staring at the man with miserable eyes.

"Not exactly, Lady Yuna wanted me to take you to her chambers." Auron sighed depressively, retreating the hand from the boy's shoulder.

Tidus said nothing and followed the man towards Yuna's chambers. He felt miserable, depressed, the way this man had crumbled the barrier he had placed upon his memories to hide the pain they caused.

"Jecht loved you, his cruelty was his way of loving you, although it was a wrong way!" Auron explained with his passive voice.

Tidus raised his head to look at the man, the way his paternal tone filled him with truth, and the manner he used to make him see the happy face of the not-so-horrors that his father had made him go through in his childhood. After all, isn't he exaggerating? It's true he was harsh, but he had never placed a hand on him, although he did yell and scream to make him not do things he liked (like drawing), or to make him try harder out of sheer frustration. And he loved his mother, he loved her very much and Tidus knew that, he was jealous, for he was a child, but he did.

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The door was opened and Tidus was allowed the entrance inside the chambers, the same ones he had been at the evening Yuna would lend him the dressing suit. However, this time different events would drive him here, events that would startle and shock him. Which was his surprise when his eyes landed on the creature that greeted him euphorically and exquisite. Which was his surprise when Tidus felt his heart skip a beat and stumble within his chest.

To Be Continued…

AN: Ok, here is chapter five. Almost nearing to the end, this gets me closer to the most difficult part, the sinking of the ship, which is so well explained in the movie. Well, I hope you enjoy what I'm doing, and please read and review.


	6. The Portrait

"What are you doing here, Rikku?" Tidus inquired, gazing at the golden locks gleaming under the sun light, and beaming at the twilight smile that played in the fresh, young lips.

"I met Yuna on the deck, and she told me to come!" Rikku explained with her active and euphoric personality.

"I would like to give her something, but that would be after." Yuna said with a calm smile, which was slightly tense and nervous.

"After what?" Tidus was curious, and Rikku was simply oblivious and waited patiently.

"I'd like you to draw me wearing this." Yuna explained, her arm lifted from the hidden position she kept it behind the folds of her skirt, revealing the sparkling, blue pendant.

"Sure, no problem!" Tidus exclaimed with a shrug, staring at the jewel with hungry eyes.

"Wearing only this!" Yuna's voice was firm and strict this time, making her greatest effort to pronounce this last words than to summon the great Bahamut.

"ah…all right!" the man's voice was strangled and rasped, his eyes widened upon receiving the request.

Rikku gazed at the woman with startled eyes, her spiralled orbs sparkling with disbelief. Thoughts of purity had stricken her upon seeing the Summoner, so sure and secure of her faith in Yevon. Now she was pleading Tidus for a nude picture of herself, and her purity seemed to be vanishing and crumbling. What had happened to her? Rikku knew Tidus might have had some sort of influence over her, she could almost affirm it, or maybe it was the air of Spira's ocean. Whatever it was, Yuna had changed and would never be the same.

Tidus, with the help of Rikku, placed a sofa on the room, situated in such way the light rained upon it. The boy called the muse gently, and in a matter of instants brief like a breath, Yuna had arrived, engulfed in a gown of pure silk. It was silver, semi transparent, and Tidus saw through the shadow her body casted upon the cloth that her body was bare as if she had just been born. An innocent, shy smile seemed to play within the girl's lips, and a deep breath forced her to gather all her courage in order of doing what she had planned. The gleaming stone hanged from her neck with that gentle, mystical glow.

"Lay…lay there!" Tidus said with a gulp, swallowing his awkward sensations.

Yuna proceeded, releasing the gown and letting it fall cleanly at her feet, revealing the nude body, the thin waist and milky skin.

"Like this?" she inquired, laying down, crossing her legs so her noble parts were hidden.

"Put your hand there, under your face…perfect!" Tidus was regaining his comfort as his professionalism grew. Rikku sat next to Tidus, eager to see the first sketches and the culmination of the art.

And then it began, charcoal with swift moves to define the situation of the figure, posture, and proportions. Inmediatly, Tidus, content with the result of the first try, and happy with the way the sizes were, began to define the details, the shape. Hands, fingers, the round, calm face, the curved waist, the folded knees, and the short hair. Hands moved as free as if they were doing nothing at all, but the result was so exquisite Rikku couldn't help feel a slight twinge of jealousy at the beauty of the picture. Shadows, the features, the darkest areas and the various glows and sparkles of the jewel, hair and skin. Yuna was a perfect model, used to remain impassive in the most drastic situations, and Rikku was a tranquil observant, too delighted with the perfection Tidus could cast to even breathe for fear of tearing the magick.

"There, finished!" Tidus smiled pleased at the way the picture had turned so realistic, placing his signature in the lower right corner, as it was usual.

Yuna placed the gown back over her figure, and took a peek at the drawing. She seemed impressed, and couldn't vocalize a word. After taking in a deep breath, the Summoner turned towards Rikku, holding the picture and smiling at Tidus in her act.

"I want to give you something, like I promised!" Yuna explained, staring at the woman as if she was her younger sister.

"You don't need to give me anything!" Rikku recoiled slightly awkward and startled at the woman's confidence in her.

"I know, but I have a feeling you will make a greater use of it than I will." Yuna explained, unchaining the pendant and placing it on Rikku's hand.

The girl was bewildered, staring at the costly jewel resting on her hand, the magical glow beating inside it like a heart. Tidus was equally surprised, staring at the scene with interest, without intervening, and curious about the outcome.

"It is called the Star of Spira, and it is very powerful. If you ever need help, just plead the spirit inside it to come into your aid." Yuna smiled at the woman with calm.

"I can't accept it, I would never know how to make it work!" Rikku complained, extending her hand and motioning at the Summoner to take it back.

"Just take it, please!" the way Yuna closed Rikku's fingers around the stone, the way her voice was so pleading and desperate, even if it was a small hint, ended up convincing Rikku to take the mysterious item.

"Ok!" Rikku smiled reassuringly at the girl, and hanged the pendant around her neck, feeling the weigh of its force almost immediately.

Tidus walked forward, wanting to speak, but his action and intentions were interrupted by an alarmed hiss, and an unexpected entry of someone they had forgotten about.

"Yuna, Lord Seymour is arriving, walking from the end of the corridor. You have about five minutes to get rid of your visits!" Auron poked his head into the room, his voice seemed calm but was urgent.

Everyone knew Seymour might seemed enamoured of the woman, but everyone knew as well he was a jealous and violent man if the things he loved were touched. Yuna was a thing he loved, and as such was an item that belonged to him, and could not be touched without permission.

"Oh my, I'll never have time to get dressed, my suits are very complicated!" Yuna gasped rather nervous at the event.

"Get dressed on my suit, will help you pass unnoticed, and anyways I can flee to my chambers without being seen, even in underwear." Rikku sparked animated, getting rid of her clothes as quickly as she could, remaining on her tight bra, and comfortable panties, designed for a more accurate movement.

"There is a back door right?" Tidus inquired, not liking the idea of being pursued through the corridors of first class.

"Through the balcony, it leads directly to the higher deck through a door!" Yuna explained agitated while placing the tight pants and loose shirt on her body, seeing as it didn't cover her stomach made her feel slightly pleased with herself.

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Seymour passed by Auron without saying a word to the guardian. There was no way of communication between the two, and nothing interesting could come from the lips of a man who had been designed to protect a Summoner. The guado entered the room, followed by Cid closely. Mysterious eyes scanned the place carefully, landing with some suspicion over the fallen gown, and crashing with rage upon the picture that rested on the very same sofa where it was drawn.

"Damn it Yuna, you will pay!" snapped the man angrily, his mortified his kept as a mutter to his own person.

"Is everything ok?" inquired Cid curiously, catching a stray glimpse from the picture, and frowning clearly disgusted at the indecorous manifestation.

"No, everything is not ok, my Fiancee if gone, and so is that damned jewel!" snapped Seymour clearly enraged, facing Cid with the anger of someone who has found his woman cheating on him.

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The afternoon sun caressed their cheeks, tinting them golden and bright orange, slightly flushed from the emotion of the escape and the running across the balcony and up the stairs. Tidus gripped Yuna's hand with strength and care, and his pearly teeth flashed in a radiating smile as he rememoured catching a very brief glimpse of the guado's screwed up face.

"That was fun!" gasped Tidus in a laboured breath.

"Yeah!" Yuna agreed, her breathing so hard it was all she could vocalize.

Then if appeared before his eyes like an altar for his prayers. That only part of the ship that would change his life more than this machina had already. The very front of the ship with a barrier that formed a three stair climbing ladder, perfect for his imaginative purpose.

"Come, I want to show you something!" Tidus beamed pulling the girl along, and beaming as if it was his first time at an amusement park.

"Come on, don't run, weren't we supposed to wait for Rikku here?" gasped Yuna feeling her weight being dragged with apparent ease, and remembering the girl who had sneaked away to gather some clothing to cover her skin more decorously.

"It'll be a moment Yuna!" Tidus beamed with equal illusion.

As the two had reached, the boy took in a deep breath, feeling the refreshing, afternoon air filling his lungs with the salty scent of the ocean's waters accompanying it. Both feet placed over the railing, Tidus stood, his hand extended, his eyes eager, and his smile pleading. Yuna accepted, and she was pulled into a safe balance onto the barrier.

"Extend your arms…" Tidus whispered so sweetly, so gently, placing both hands intertwined with the Summoner's hands.

"I'm…I'm flying!" Yuna gasped with that same emotion that seemed to fill Tidus and make him so drunken of secret emotions.

Indeed, her eyes gazed upon the horizon from such a height, her eyes casted nothing but the presence of water, and the wind caressed her hair and face, passing between her arms and shaking the wide, white shirt. The only way Yuna could have contact with the ground was the way her feet were placed on the railing, such that the feeling she got was of a flight, using her imagination of course.

"Come Josephine, in my flying machine, and it's up she goes, up she goes…" Tidus sang gently into her ear, softly and almost lovingly.

Yuna turned around and smiled at him softly, her lips pursed eagerly, hungrily, and her eyes gleamed into the eyes of the boy. Tidus smiled back at her, not with half the passion she felt burning within her heart, but more in a friendly way. At first he had wanted to kiss her, he had felt it right, but a mysterious pang in his heart kept teasing him, forcing him to admit he was not so sure of his feelings for the woman. He had felt his ambition, his lust, but now he knew the girl and admired her for who she was, hence by no means he would lie to her with false illusions.

"Yuna…" Tidus breathed, turning away to avoid the woman's lips to contact his. "Yuna, sorry, I just don't feel that way about you!" he admitted looking visibly hurt.

"I know!" Yuna didn't seem impressed, and although she was disappointed, she kept a calm smile and a rather placid sensation swimming within herself.

"Will I ever see you again?" Tidus asked as he accompanied the girl towards the entrance to the ship's guts.

"Always Tidus, for I'm never going back!" Yuna smiled pleased, delighted, her face illuminated with that spark, that light of joy that could only mean she was dreaming, she was visualizing a reality, an expectation.

"Take care! I'll always remember you!" Tidus waved his hand gently as the woman vanished, and with a peace and a slight shot of nostalgia in his heart, he turned around to find Rikku and continue the journey as it had began. They would be arriving the next morning, or so he thought.

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The Al Bhed had seen everything. She had seen the scene of the railing, the way they hugged, they way Tidus whispered gentle words in Yuna's ear, the way he retreated with the woman smiling like the stars had summoned themselves to her. Now, crystal tears streaked past the cheeks, trailing humid rivers of sparkling fluid which itched at her dry skin.

Rikku basically stumbled blindly towards the railing, avoiding collision with the blurry images that glided before her. She sobbed silently, she felt miserable, and now she knew why. Admitting that fact had taken all her integrity, all her courage, and the careful analysis of the feelings of grief she had been developing for the past days. Now she had reached a diagnosis, and that made her feel worse than she had ever felt in her life, for such unknown sensations attacked her cruelly.

She was in love…with Tidus.

The girl climbed carefully upon the railing, her hands clearing the tears off such that she would be able to admire the beauty of flight with her very own eyes. She extended her arms like wings, and felt a twinge of an emotive and excite smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Come Josephine, in my flying machine…!" she began singing with her gentle sobbing that one song which Tidus always chimed.

"…and it's up she goes, up she goes!" a voice said behind her, gripping her hands ever so delicately and feeling the warmth of a body pressing at her back gently.

The girl almost fell forward, had it not been for the presence that gripped her hand, that murmured in her ear, that whispered in a husky voice words that meant nothing, but which's tone meant everything. As she leapt, startled, the balance was broken and lost, so the presence tugged at her hands, using the weight of the body to throw the both off the railing and into the safety of the deck. Rikku turned around sharply, wanting to kick the person's ass for scaring her so much, but immediately feeling startled, confused.

"Asking you what you are doing here would sound monotonous, wouldn't it?" Rikku said with a gentle smile, but the mischievous sparkle in her eyes revealed her delight and excitement.

To Be Continued…

AN: Ok, driving to a close end, I am sure many of you will adore the next page, or maybe not. Anyways, I won't reveal anything beforehand so please, read and review to motivate me so I finish this faster, and the faster I finish, the faster you get to know what happens at the end, which will be surprising, I hope.


	7. Love to Live

"Yes, it would, but the truth is I saw you from behind and couldn't help it, you know how I am Rikku!" the boy smiled delighted, blue eyes sparkled so happily, so delighted, and the way the smile was so warm and pleased.

"Tidus, big meany!" snapped Rikku, punching his chest playfully, hands still resting on his shoulders, and his very own hands engulfing the girl's waist protectively.

"I know!" they boy grinned at Rikku with a playful smile, but his joy was so great he felt his heart growing until it would burst.

"But I saw you leaving with Yuna, why did you come back?" Rikku inquired, caressing the jewel that was hidden beneath her clothing.

"Because I realized she is a fantastic woman, loving, caring, innocent, pretty…!" Tidus began with a voice of slight monotony, but feigning somewhat amazement.

"Oh, then I don't understand what you are doing here!" the girl commented in a low, deceived voice, looking down and letting her grip loosen.

"Hey, she is pretty, and innocent, and kind and all that Rikku, but she wasn't you!" Tidus said now with a voice so soft, so loving, there was so much fire in it, Rikku felt shivers crossing her spine. His words were accompanied by the gentle movement of his fingers under her throat, pushing her head up such that his eyes would link with hers.

Understanding dawned upon him, disbelief and somewhat a blooming joy that threatened to push behind her effort into a violent outburst. It would never happen, as that adrenaline was released and flowed into other actions less neurotic. The two locked eyes, gleaming, sparkling, the wind teasing them with the playful hands ruffling the golden locks. Tidus leaned in, Rikku parted her lips eagerly, breathing nervously, and finally it occurred, their deepest desires, their hidden feelings. Lips united, hearts fused, and the wind sparkled with drops of humidity as both souls became one in a gentle, sweet and passionate representation of their love, the kiss so innocent and so full of meaning it spoke for itself.

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The proud captain, an experienced Al Bhed, breathed in a cooling, night breeze and let his lungs be filled with the pleasure of salty ocean. The sea was a bit shaky, waves rose higher than usually, which was normal considering the enormous moon that would illuminate the night.

"Hello Captain, how is work?" inquired Cid, approaching the man from behind.

"Good Evening Lord Cid!" the captain had been startled, but moved mno muscle except a slight, rasped breath that escaped his lips, "the work is getting along just fine!" he answered truthfully.

"Fantastic, increase speed until its maximum." Cid ordered with authority.

"But sir, I can't do that, the water in this area can become shallow, coral reefs grow very high!" explained the captain, staring at the man with a slight tremor.

"Nonsense, I can see no reef! And anyways, this ship is indestructible, not even Sinh himself could destroy it!" Cid pointed out sharply, staring at the man with a look that imposed his obedience.

"Yes sir!" the captain, against his will, agreed complacently and saluted at the man, who fled as soon as the order had been given. IT was egoistical and selfish, only purposes of a mayor glory than he had already got, and although the captain knew this he had no position to argue. Cid would get his glory after all.

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"Well, what now?" inquired Rikku, her eyes lost in the horizon, piercing the setting sun with her sparkling green eyes.

"I don't know, maybe I'll go back to Yuna, I could have my very own haren with all the money she could give me!" Tidus said, smiling jokingly at Rikku.

"Ti-dus, you big meany!" Rikku complained punching his chest playfully. The young boy broke into a delighted fit of laughter, and his joy was contagious to the girl, who had soon joined in the game.

"I don't know Rikku, all I know is I want to stay like this forever!" he said glancing at the sky, which was sparkled with star and tinted in blue velvet.

The Al Bhed might have responded, such was her intention as she pressed slightly stronger to the boy's waist. Everything had been so perfect and glorious that the consecution of events that would come in the following two hours would pass way too dashing for the both. Their races in the streets to steal some food would soon become a race to nowhere in order of surviving.

A collision was all the passengers felt. An enormous, thunderous sound that boomed across the halls and shook the entire machina like an earthquake. Plates fell to the floor and shattered, food lay sprawled everywhere, elders had soon fallen and one or two gained a considerate damage in their old bones. People screamed, gasped and glanced around in search of an explanation and comfort.

Cid had taken little time in reaching the control room. He extended a plan of the ship on a freshly polished wooden table. His spiralled eyes glanced at the other Al Bhed, the report had been sent from the Machine Room instants after the collision, so the afliged captain could explain, not without feeling a certain disdain towards the ignorant.

"What was it?" inquired Cid wanting to know why they had collided against water, for nothing seemed to bloom from the oceanic surface.

"A peak, a sharp, coral edge!" the captain responded, staring at the man with a slight anger, "and you can't see anything because we were going very fast, and the water is too high!" the man finished.

"Well, which is our situation?" inquired Cid glancing at the plan with worry.

"Very critic, the peak has caused a very deep gash on one of the sides. The gash is many metres long, so water is entering in compartment one, two and three!" the captain responded, pointing at the sketch of the ship.

"Then close the emergency doors!" snapped the ideologist of the great machina, plummeting his fist on the table strongly, his voice furious.

"It's not so easy sir, you see we can stay afloat with compartment one and two completely flooded, but with the three of them at the front there is not much we can do. The weight will make the ship lean, and the water will flood to the other compartments through the corridors!" the captain explained, staring at the drawing worriedly.

Now Cid was visibly affected, his skin was pale and his eyes glanced at the infinity. "How much time?" he inquired coldly, distant and worried.

"Two hours, maybe three!" the captain explained glancing at the front of the enormous being he was driving, seeing as it had slowed down from the impact. "we must begin to evacuate!" he finished.

"There are not enough lifesaving boats for the passengers, there is only room for half of them!" Cid explained, now his voice trembled very noticeably, his guild penetrating his heart.

"What?" gasped the captain staring at the man as if he had shape shifted into Sinh himself.

"There are not enough lifeboats, I thought the ship was safe enough, and would not need them!" the Al Bhed explained letting all his guilt pour onto his sweaty and trembling hands.

"May the Aeons assist us!" the Al Bhed captain prayed, not daring to look at the monstrous and ignorant being that had planned this criminal machina.

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Rikku gripped Tidus' shirt tightly as the earthquake below her feet made her loose balance momentarily. Tidus also maintained his balance thanks to the embrace he had forced upon the smaller figure protectively.

"What was that?" Tidus inquired looking back and forth, realizing that the Titanic had slowed its speed.

"I think we hit something!" Rikku was altered at such affirmation, knowing well the damage a machina could suffer if it had a strong enough collision.

"You don't think it is serious, do you?" Tidus inquired worriedly, staring at the woman and seeking comfort in her eyes.

"I'm not sure, I can't see the damage from here!" Rikku leaned over the railing, trying to see something, but the gash was submerged underwater.

"Well, well, isn't it Tidus and his bitch!" a venomous, familiar voice spoke disdainfully behind the two.

"Ah, the thing might be serious Rikku, the rats are already climbing up the deck!" Tidus commented with a sigh, not even turning to gaze at the man behind him.

Rikku had turned around, here eyes were glancing with mistrust at the guado, flanked by sir Auron (who simply seemed miserable) and one of the policemen who secured the ship's civil safety. And Rikku saw the evil, horrid intentions gleaming with cruel delight in the Maestre's eyes.

"Tidus, watch out!" she warned exaggeratedly, sharply and loudly.

To no avail. The Guado had made some kind of order with his hand, pointing at the boy. Obedient like a dog, the policeman pounced over the boy and, quicker than eyes could see, he had placed a pair of handcuffs gripping both arms behind his back. The boy only gasped, and his eyes landed on his trap, then onto his captors, angrily, that was doubtless, but principally confused and inquiring.

"You are under arrest, accused of robbery." The young police said with a dull voice, while his eyes glanced at the guado standing besides him.

"Of robbery?" snapped Tidus, staring at the Guado with a burning look of hathred, "I stole nothing you blubber headed slug!" the boy finished nearly biting at him, and he would have had it not been for the inconvenient that he lacked the fangs of a Vihur.

"Indeed, where is my precious Star of Spira?" the man hissed, glancing at the boy venomously, codiciously, all gentleness he might have once had gone.

"The Star of Spira?" gasped Tidus, "I don't have it you dimwit, why would I want a Summoning Stone I can't even use?" Tidus argued, his eyes landing briefly on Auron who seemed to be restraining himself from slashing the guado from head to toe, and in channel.

"Tidus!" gasped Rikku, whose eyes had been following the situation attentively, and who was now catching the drift. Unconsciously she felt a hand clutching the heavy rock which rested below her clothing.

"Rikku, don't worry, it's just a mistake ok? Go find a lifeboat, I'll join you in Zanarkand!" Tidus said, his blue eyes sparkling reassuringly, and his voice eager to make her flee from scenery.

Rikku was not all too delighted with the idea of leaving Tidus to his luck. She knew well however that she was carrying the precious item that man keened, and was bound to become a suspect soon enough if she didn't vanish. So, sending Tidus a glance of security, love and concern, Rikku nodded and fled away from the deck, seeking a free lifeboat.

"Let's go, take him down, to the Police Department!" Seymour ordered with the supremacy of someone very important, which he was.

"Yes sir!" the policeman obeyed complacently, treating Tidus as if he was some kind of miserable fiend that had not rights of existence, and which's only presence was merely used to be humiliated. Auron simply stared at the scene and shook his head sadly, then, without directing the faintest word at Seymour, he turned around and walked away.

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"Tidus!" Rikku felt the tears well up in her eyes as the boy was carried away by the policeman. It could have been her fault, but she knew this jewel had been a gift from Yuna, and whoever gave it to her was of no importance. Now, however, the boy was being taken away, and she ignored where to. The ship was so enormous that searching for him would take her weeks, and following, although expert in such ability, was all to risky. Getting the two of them captured would not make the situation any better, so she simply observed how her beloved and best friend was being taken away, and how her ideas were drained, eaten away by fear and desperation.

"I can take you to him, I know where they are taking him." A voice said next to her, friendly, although dry and slightly sharp.

"Help me then, please!" she begged at Auron, who stood besides her with a look of complicity, and worry, and some inner fire ignited with violence towards the miserable guado.

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"You will stay here until the captain decides what to do with you!" said the policeman, cuffing his hands onto a tube, some conduct that probably served to carry gas, or electricity, or who knows.

"You can't leave me here, the ship is sinking!" Tidus argued desperately, pointing at the window which was already half submerged into the water.

"Don't tell me, I'm only following orders, as absurd as they may be!" the police shrugged, staring at the boy almost pitying him. Without a second glance, or thought for the misery of the half Al Bhed, the policeman walked away, taking the keys of the cuffs with himself.

"Damn it, NO!" Tidus hit the tube violently, desperately, making all the noise his fury could muster. He felt tears in his eyes, but forced them back as he remembered the words his father used to tell him about crying, that it was weak, and solved no problem. However, right now he was afraid, truly afraid, he wondered where Rikku was, and he didn't want to die himself. That rush of emotions tore him deep inside, and he was eager to see the Al Bhed so keenly, and so profoundly did he wish she would be safe.

So absent had his mind been, so profound and deeply submerged into the lost memories he had just recovered that the thunderous echo of a door slamming against the metal wall passed in adverted to him. But the eager call of his name hadn't, so his eyes darted towards the door, were a figure clutching a long, thin sword occupied the integrity of the gap with the immense figure.

"Sir Auron?" Tidus stared at the man who had sliced open the lock of the door with the enormous katana.

The man only nodded, assuring the veracity of Tidus affirmation. From behind leapt a cheerful girl, a golden blur that raced towards him and embraced his musculous body lovingly, with the tightness of someone who feared loss.

"Tidus, I thought I'd loose you!" Rikku gasped, staring at the boy closely, almost as if it was a dream, or perhaps a rest into a terrible nightmare.

"From here our paths part, hurry and board a boat, or find your…own ways of saving yourselves, but honestly, leave everything behind and get away from here quickly. This thing is sinking, and it will drag as much as it can along with it!" Auron explained seriously, staring at the couple with sympathy.

"Yes, thank you!" Rikku said, smiling gratefully at the man. Tidus only smiled reassuringly, and nodded briefly, imperceptibly at the older man.

"Farewell, and good luck!" Auron mustered dryly before he vanished across the silent corridor.

The boy nodded his farewell, although he knew Auron would not see him, for he had already retired. His eyes darted to the woman so lovingly, caring, and also so furiously, although this last emotions was only the shadow of what he pretended it to be.

"Rikku, what are you doing here? You should be on a lifeboat!" snapped Tidus staring at her with gentle eyes.

"I couldn't leave you here, it's all my fault, I have the Star of Spira!" Rikku moaned, placing her hands on his face, and staring at him with a pleading look.

"It's yours, Yuna gave it to you! Seymour is only an egocentric, obsessive trout, who has lost his precious treasure and yearns a second one to replace it economically!" Tidus explained, staring at her and smiling weakly.

"Whatever, we have to get out of here!" Rikku said flinching lightly.

Tidus looked down, at the floor, and couldn't help but gasp silently. His eyes widened, his mouth gaped and his whole body trembled ever so lightly. The whole floor was flooded, water moved like a slithering snake, silently, with a gentle hiss. It began licking their ankles, and the half Al Bhed knew this fluid would not until it swallowed the whole ship greedily.

"Ah! But how?" shrieked the boy loudly, trying hopelessly to escape the water that pulled him down, "that son of his mother took the keys along with him!" he snapped shaking the cuffs so they clanged against the metallic tube with an strident sound.

"Tidus, hello, I'm Rikku, a thief, and an Al Bhed first of all!" the girl said rolling her eyes, and pulling off one of the hairpins that maintained her locks in place.

Her hand touched the boy's gently, and she felt him flinch lightly. Her eyes drifted to steal a glance, and smiled in her thought at the loving look he was sending her. Her features were contorted in a face of pure concentration, so her eyes darted back to their focus point, the handcuffs. She introduced one of the ends of the hairpin into the lock of the handcuffs, and once in there she proceeded to find the exact point, the place where the pressure added would make it give in. The silence was such, and so tense only the rushing of water, foaming viciously could be heard. Then, miraculous, a click, and the cuff released the metallic, tight grip on the boy. Rikku worked the other quickly, and soon Tidus was free, a relaxed, relieved smile on his face.

"Rikku!" he leapt forward as he was set free, engulfed her in a tight hug, and proceeded to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

"We have to get out of here before the water rises too much!" she urged him on, returning the kiss briefly and pulling back.

Tidus nodded agreeing with the girl, and both leapt into the corridor quickly. The water reached them up to their waist already, and it flowed quicker as the ship began leaning down more and more. The lights flickered on and off in intervals, and a sound of pressure against metal echoed throughout the empty place.

"It's this way!" Rikku pointed out, walking against the current.

She had only walked a couple of metres when the water threw her to the floor and swallowed her. Tidus pounced on the girl and pulled her out immediately, keeping his balance precariously. The Al Bhed coughed and spit the water that had sneaked into her lungs.

"The torrent is way too strong, we will never defeat it!" Tidus pointed out, then his eyes darted to the ceiling, where a labyrinth of metal tubes formed the perfect sustain for them to crawl away from the water.

Like monkeys, the couple climbed and crawled, back down, across the knot of metal tubes that conducted all of the basis of the ship's inner functions, like water and electricity. They found this tiring, but had soon crossed the corridor and found themselves with a new obstacle, the stairs. There were no tubes to aid them, so it was a one chance leap, or they would be carried away if their landing was bad aimed.

Tidus was first, and he leapt clean landing with security, and agility of a cat on the one steps that were not flooded yet. Then it was Rikku, who leapt fast, elegant like a gazelle. She landed on the clean steps as well, but lost her balance for a few seconds, and would have toppled down heavily, had it not been because Tidus gripped her hand and pulled her back into safety.

"We are close to the exit, lets go!" she urged him on and climbed the rest of the stairs, leaving the river behind.

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Breathing fresh air would have supposed a situation of glee, of pleasure to the pair, but one last obstacle would impede their emerging onto surface. Gates had been closed to keep them locked, and various other third class passengers argued with a police that was at the other side with the keys.

"Well, well, we meet again!" Tidus sneered at the man, clenching his fists threatening.

"How did you get free?" gasped the man as if he was seeing a ghost.

"That's irrelevant, open the damn gate!" Tidus snapped glaring at the man angrily.

"What is going on?" questioned Rikku to Wakka, who was also there.

"They have been given orders to lock us, yah, the lifeboats are for first class only!" the older man explained, shrugging defeated.

"What? You can't do that! We are living beings too!" Rikku snapped growling at the man.

"I have been given those orders, really miss, nothing is my fault!" the policeman stared at the group sadly and shook his head, turning on his heels and racing away.

"NO!" Rikku yelled, pulling her hand through the barriers and raising it, trying hopelessly to stop him.

The group brawled, growled and snarled angrily, but they all gave in at last. Sitting down and waiting for the obvious. Rikku could have tried opening the lock, but the hairpin was too small to open such a large lock, and she didn't have her material along with her, it was in her room, underwater. She collapsed against the door, defeated, punching it furiously, and moaning sadly at her hopeless situation. She felt so useless, so sad, and it made her sense as if all of this was her fault. Tears streamed down her desperate face, but those tears soon vanished with shock. She was not ready for what happened next.

To Be Continued…

AN: I think it's one last chapter and the story will be finished. I hope you are all enjoying the story. I surely am because I never thought of it turning this way. I have the end planned out and honestly, you are not expecting it, maybe a little, the little about…, but not what happens to them. Well, please read and review.


	8. The Blue Serpent

There was a luminosity that blinded everyone in the small hall. Such glow irradiated from the young Al Bhed, which surprised and frightened Tidus. He would have attempted to reach her but the light was so blinding, only Rikku seemed unaffected, fascinated as she was gazing at her chest. It was a light of an intense blue, a watery colour that glowed and immersed her in a rush of power like she had never known. Then a sharp sound of metal tearing, and the gate was wide open to free them from their watery prison.

"What happened?" inquired Tidus, hugging the girl protectively when the glow had faded and he was allowed vision again.

"I think it was the pendant!" Rikku explained shocked and startled, gazing at her chest where the stone rested, escaped as it had from the safety of her shirt.

"Let's go yah!" bellowed Wakka with his thundering voice, motioning with his hand at the group to follow him into some kind of conquering war. The third class passengers rushed like an stampede away from the jail in which their misfortunate situation had locked them unfairly. Indeed, the ones who had little, would get even less advantage than those who had everything and yearned even more.

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Yuna saw the havoc occurring on the ship from afar. She had managed to enter one of the lifeboats and saw the events from a privileged situation. The ship was highly leaned, the front was sinking rapidly and now she could see the propellers and the engines clearly. People could still walk on the deck, but being careful as not to slip or trip. She gasped when she saw one of the lifeboats, which seemed overloaded, toppling over. The people it contained fell into the water, where death had sharp fangs, and the ropes that sustained the lifeboat tore, letting the enormous thing fall with all its weight over the misfortunate people.

"Oh my goodness!" gasped a woman that was on the same boat.

Yuna gasped herself at the image. She knew that boat was weighty, and probably few would survive the collision. She stole a glance from a passenger which's eyes were sharp on her, vigilant and observing. It was her faithful Auron, so she tried to vanish by placing the hood of her cloak further down, attempting to hide her factions, and staring sideways to keep her features hidden. Yuna would not return, ever again, to the miserable life wealth had paid her with.

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"Come on!" called Tidus emerging on the deck, and racing towards the lifeboats, dragging Rikku as his hand firmly gripped her very own.

As the group reached the few lifeboats that remained still on the ship, they encountered various problems. The same police that had locked them like animals was there, hand to hand with other comrades, guarding a lifeboat that contained people dressed with brilliant clothes.

"Let us in!" bellowed Tidus angrily, stealing a glance from one of the passengers of the lifeboat. It was none other than Seymour himself.

"Sorry sir, but I fear you are becoming highly irritating, nobody from third class is allowed onto the lifeboats." The young policeman explained glancing at the couple.

"You can't do that to us, that boat is half empty!" Wakka walked forward and faced the young boy, towering over him.

"Orders are orders!" the policeman explained.

"To heck with orders, yah! COME ON!" Wakka yelled at the man, and then faced those in the same situation as himself.

A flood of people pushed their way towards the lifeboat like an stampede, pushing everything they could aside in their brutal attempt of reaching the safety of the small structures. Tidus pulled Rikku aside, it was pointless trying to reach the boat, they were likely to be stepped on by their mates. The couple separated themselves from the group and made their way towards the tail, searching for another lifeboat on the way.

A dry sound echoed in the distance, a shot. A gun had released the deadly bullet, and it had made collision, a vital one at that. Tidus and Rikku stopped for a few moments and turned around. A familiar red headed had stopped dry in his attempts of pushing his way through the policemen, he looked at his body, touching a certain spot, and collided to the floor, consumed. The young policeman had been the one who had shot him, and his face was pale with the outcome he had caused.

He was probably trying to keep the third class passengers at bay, but all he managed was to release their fury even more. The group bellowed and roared with savage fury, and slammed against him, pushing the young and inexperienced through the railing, toppling him down to the ocean. Facing the rest of the police, the group leap like a flood onto the lifeboat. The pair saw it swing and sway perilously, until it toppled over as it was predicted. The ropes had been badly damaged, so the structure collapsed against the group of people that tried to keep themselves afloat. Tidus and Rikku could not see the outcome, but knew many would have perished as the thing fell upon them. The two turned around and kept running, seeking their own safety.

No more boats were seen, all of them floated lazily over the waters of the ocean. Tidus and Rikku were trapped on a terrible machina that would do all it can to drag as many people as possible underwater. As if those thoughts had been read by the miserable being, the ship shattered in half, tearing down and leaving the tail alone. Tidus and Rikku fell hard against the floor as it vanished, leaving them on the air. The two saw the head filled with water vanishing, swallowed by the darkness of the ocean, illuminated by nothing but a pale reflection of the stars, and the pregnant moon.

"Come on!" Tidus urged Rikku on, making her stand up and pulling her along.

"Where to? There is nowhere to escape!" Rikku argued back, she was pale, frightened and commotion for what was occurring.

"There is always a last chance!" Tidus explained, not looking at her but running on.

The tail was being quickly filled with the liquid that had given life, and so easily could take it back. It leaned dangerously, threatening to stand completely vertical on the water, for its path was such. Tidus and Rikku leapt forward, grabbing themselves from the railing, the same Tidus had once nearly fallen over to take a hold of a suicidal woman.

"Whatever happens, don't let go." Tidus said, climbing onto the other side and holding tightly, helping Rikku along as the ship leaned in more and more.

Rikku nodded, watching the horrors that happened around them. People couldn't hold on for longer, too exhausted, or perhaps simply tired of running for something that was only a mere spark in a room filled with sombre shadows and darkness. They let go, they fell down, collapsing painfully against chimneys, decks, railings and whichever item was attached to the ship.

"When I say now, start swimming!" Tidus explained, staring at the girl, his hand gripping her very own so comfortingly, his eyes smiling so lovingly.

"Ok!" Rikku gasped frightened, smiling at the boy weakly, feeling so unsure of the future.

The remains of the ship, now full of water, began to sink like a rock, releasing an enormous, absorbing current that pulled everything it reached towards the depths. Tidus yelled in the very second they were about to penetrate the warmth of the tropical waters. Rikku felt her body being sucked in by the strength of the ship, and began paddling as wildly as she could, trying desperately to push her body through the surface. So near, yet so far, for she was static in the same place, contradictory forces that kept her still.

She looked down, and saw Tidus struggling until exhaustion, giving in second by second, letting his body sink towards the depths. His eyes sparkled with a farewell and a good luck, and Rikku swore she was crying, but the wetness that surrounded her wouldn't let her assure it. She did feel two terrible pains, a heart ache from her shattering soul at the vision of the one she loved the most, and her burning lungs about to burst, reclaiming oxygen with all their might.

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Swords clashed and gleamed into the sunlight, sparkling with rays of death and a noble art. A Hyundai Sonata, the colour of wine passed by, and the driver, a young girl around her twentieths with gleaming, curly, dark red hair and grey eyes honked furiously, and bellowed angrily at someone manoeuvring incorrectly. That would have startled the two fighters, but none flinched. Two Katanas placed in a steady position, touching and rubbing metal against metal, but not moving an inch after the initial assault. Eyes the colour of ice observed the dichromatic of water and nature itself, startled and shocked.

"Hello Yuna, I'm also glad to see you!" the man said in his, always passive and calm voice.

"Sir Auron!" Yuna gasped, retiring her own Katana rapidly and staring at the man with shock. She knew he had survived, he had been with her on the lifeboat, but still was startled to have seen him in a city as large as this one.

"Assassin I see, nice twist of jobs, from a Summoner to help people to an Assassin to pursue and kill them, how did it happen?" question Auron lowering his very own sabre and staring at her calmly.

"That was the very last time I would ever see them!" Yuna said all of a sudden, referring to the time the ship had sank, when Tidus and herself departed, taking their own paths. "I was not going back, never, I wanted a new life, so I began as thief, soon I had caught the attention of a Don, and he hired me as his personal Assassin." Yuna explained the story with brief traces, omitting the remorse and the terrors she had to cross and to overcome to be here.

"You heard about Tidus and Rikku right?" Auron said calmly, smiling gently at the woman.

"Yes, I did!" Yuna nodded vigorously, smiling sweetly and almost proudly, letting her happiness for the two become visible in her, now, hard features. "Tidus became star player of the Zanarkand Abes, and Rikku is a prolific designer of those new cars, what are they called? Hyundai!" Yuna finished delighted, with a broad smile on her cherry lips.

"Indeed, I wonder how the escaped from the ship when it sank?" Auron wondered himself aloud, casting a stray glance into infinity.

Yuna smiled to herself, she had seen their escape towards safety, and she couldn't have felt prouder for the young Al Bhed, not even now that she makes a kind of vehicle that is rapidly climbing into the most famous group.

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"Tidus!" Rikku would have screamed, had it not been due to the fact that water was bound to penetrate her mouth and lungs. There, getting darker and dimmer, Tidus sank with a pleased look in his eyes. His hand was making the palm face her, a farewell.

"No!" Rikku thought miserably, feeling her weak boy being released from the current that had desperately tried to pull her in.

"Oh please, help me, someone please help me and save him!" Rikku prayed with all her might, all her hopes and will, hands clenching the blue stone, eyes closed with concentration, a frown of effort crossing her face.

It responded, and the magick and power contained within the gem was released. A bright blue glow irradiated, and a beam shook the water, staying still at a point where it accumulated more and more light, growing and become some kind of definite shape, serpent shape. As the glow faded, it revealed a dragonish, sharp face, a slim, snake like body and a crest of fins, followed by four larger, more fleshy fins that resembled rows. The green and blue creature gazed at the woman with his gentle, crystal silver eyes.

"Help me!" the girl pleaded in her mind, hoping the beast would get the message.

Indeed, the animal surrounded her and swam below her, making it such that the Al Bhed was riding steadily on the junction between the head and the neck, holding firmly on the animal's horns. Leviathan then dived until the sun was nothing but a spark in the distance, like a star sparkling feebly on the dark, night sky, a very solitary star. The beast reached the boy, who was still not unconscious due to the fact that he was a Blitzball player. That was possibly the reason why he could save his life, for as soon as the beast slithered next to him, he gripped the girl's waist and sat onto the glossy, slimy neck. The beast swam, approaching the surface with careful movements, not simply diving up, in order to keep the two beings in relative safety, considering the water pressure and other factors that could damage them irreversibly.

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Tidus and Rikku crawled up to the shore, clawing the soft, pale sand with their wet, wrinkled fingers. Both coughed, for the trip had been shaky, fluctuating constantly between fresh air and the need of holding their breath as the beast swam, sometimes hiding from possible enemies. Nearing the shore, Leviathan retired back to the comfort of the gem, which began shinning and sparkling with the serpent that slithered and swam inside it.

Now, the two looked up in time to see buildings of the most unrealistic features towering before them. Spheres that were homes sustained in a single post, big enough to bear an elevator. Cars running back and forth noisily, people gazing at the two curiously. It was like living in the future, or in a science fiction movie, for the whole parade was very unrealistic. Rikku was staring as if it was just a dream, some fantastic dream about people living in harmony with machina, in complete symbiosis, for the people used machina for their living, like machina used people for their maintenance. She smiled delighted, beaming greatly from her lying position at the wonderful world portrayed before her.

"Rikku!" Tidus said holding the girl's hand strongly, securely, his eyes piercing the whole vision with an illuminated, sparkling gaze of pride and recognition, "Welcome to Zanarkand!" he finished, his smile growing wider and broader as he admired that which had once been his home, that which was his home once again.

Tidus knew, and so did Rikku, this was where they belonged.

The End.

AN: Well, it IS finished, I can't believe I finally got through my terrible block and finished the story. Well, did you like it? Didn't you like it? Most of the things were last hour changes that I thought appropriate, for example, Rikku and Yuna don't become friends, but Rikku steals the pendant. I thought it was better this way. Well I just hope you liked it and review to tell me about it. Now I'll get working on Human Spirit, and Genetic Fox, and hope to finished them before the summer ends. Thank you all for your attention, and a special thank you to the reviewers:

8mile

scorpion05

bbychrangel

skyelight

kyritawuv

fireball20

mandyfanforevr

tidusforever

luv2game

yuna-elena

tangledweb

irritating

dreamyone

uragiri

msadrienne

rhoa

kingleby

boameda

countesscarmilla

Thank you to everyone!


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